DHANSAK, AND DHANSAK MASALA

Suitable for Sunday Dinner, or, really, any other time. Which tomorrow I will not do, seeing as the whole concept of Sunday dinner has largely passed me by, and rarely do I cook for other people. But I like the concept.

Mutton chunks, dal gravy, rice.

And please note that per excellent authority the pulses in the gravy are mashed, forced through a sieve, and NOT whole and distinct, as food authorities on the internet seem to assume. Mashed. Smooth.
An actual gravy.

Mutton or goat. Not chicken.
Not vegetarian.


BAWI'S MOM'S DHANSAK
[Copied from a handwritten manuscript that Bawi lent me.]


Masala:
One teaspoon Methi (Fenugreek) seeds
Half teaspoon Cumin seeds
4 Cloves
2 Cardamoms (green)
Half inch stick cinnamon
Six to seven dry red chilies (guess: more like chile d'arbol than other)
One clove garlic
One and a half to two teaspoons dhana-jeera masala (add when frying paste)

Dal:
One and a half cups toovar dal
One onion, halved or quartered
Two and a half cups cubed red pumpkin
One eggplant (med - small) - no seeds if possible
One tomato
Half cup cilantro (not chopped)
Three to four sprigs mint (must!)
Four to five green chilies
Salt

Boil all vegetables and dal together until dal is done. Put dal and vegetables through sieve. Heat oil and fry ground masala paste. Add dhana-jeera masala and fry on low heat till done (clarification: the fragrance has changed and the oil has come out). Add dal and bring to boil.
Simmer 15 to 20 minutes longer.

Serve with brown rice (Parsi style rice - meaning gilded with some onion and sugar).


Note :there is no meat in this recipe - it is just the lentil gravy. Many people cook it with meat (NOT chased through the sieve), and some prefer chicken over mutton, for reasons that are entirely their own. I would add about a pound of mutton, goat, or lamb, in chunks, to this quantity of dal.
Browned in onion and spices first.


DHANSAK MASALA
[Spice mixture used for dhansak, my own version.]

Ingredients:
9 Dry chilies (Guajillo or New Mexico chiles secos).
Two and a half TBS coriander seed.
One and a half TBS cumin seed.
One TBS whole peppercorns.
Half a TBS fennel seed.
Half a TBS black mustard seed.
Half a TBS fenugreek seed.
Three Tej Patta (cassia leaves - omit if unavailable).
Three green cardamom pods, seeds only.
One black cardamom pod, seeds, only.
One three-inch stick of cinnamon.
One star-anise pod.
Nine whole cloves.
One Tsp. mace.

Roast all spices except the mace. Cool and grind. Add mace and regrind, sift. If it is to be stored use a brown or blue glass jar. Optionally add half a teaspoon of turmeric to inhibit mold if you intend to make more than you will use soon.

To use, mash with about eight or nine cloves of garlice and a thumb of ginger. It will be sufficient for enough dhansak to feed eight people.

You could use two thirds of a cup of toovar dal (telwalla), one third of a cup each of masoor and moong dal. Slightly more than a pound of red pumpkin, one or two Chinese eggplants, three or four tomatoes, two or three onions, and a small bunch of methi leaves plus a handful of cilantro. Use about a pound of mutton chunks on the bone, even up to two pounds.


AFTER WORD

Dhansak is a Parsee dish, served Sundays in many homes, and at the Ripon Club, located in the Fort, on Wednesdays, with kebabs.
The Parsees, as you know, invented Cricket.

[Hence the radio on the other side of the wall, describing India trouncing Pakistan or whoever, at certain times of the year. It is a dreary baffling past time, requiring cucumber sandwiches.]



LAGNIAPPE: AMBAKALIO
Parsee style green mango relish.

One pound small green mangoes (not squishy ripe mangoes).
Half a pound jaggery (palm sugar in big chunks).
A fragment of stick cinnamon.
Chopped onion (about a quarter; it's optional).
Two green cardamom pods.
Two whole cloves.
Water - two to four tablespoons.


Break jaggery apart, put in an enamel saucepan with water, the cardamom, and the cloves. Plus the onion, if you wish.
Cook till the jaggery dissolves.

Peel, cut, and de-seed the mangoes. Note that very nicely green mangoes will have a tender seed and the flesh will not have become all fibrous around it. Nor will juice and pulp cascade over your hands at this stage of unripeness, and the flesh is firm and fragrant,  pleasingly tart.

Add the sliced mango to the jaggery water, and simmer till the mango has softened and the liquid has become stroppy. Serve alongside dhansak.




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